John Maxwell: Dream Conference #3, WPB

To continue where I left off… this is a picture of my pages of notes. Yes, that is the product of handwritten, furiously scribbled note taking.

Does my dream compel me to follow? The Passion Test

John told an interestng story. A young man comes up to him and tries to get John to invest in his idea, whatever it was. “How much have you invested?” John asked. When the answer was “nothing” John said, “Why should I invest in your dream when you don’t even believe in your dream??”

Favorite Quotes

• If you are average, it is by choice.
• Passion is what sets you apart from the average crowd.

Do I have a strategy to reach my dream? The Pathway question

John, once more, hit me in the gut with this question. On any given topic or project I am more than capable of spending months, years, reading about what I should do, yet never get around to doing what I should do. He said, “Understanding changes minds, but actions change lives.” Take my writing a book goal, for example: there are only so many writing books, classes, magazines to be read. Sooner or later I must write.

Favorite quotes:

• Use the acronym SECURE: State where you are, Examine all your actions, Consider all your options, Utilize all your resources, Remove all non-essentials, Embrace all your challenges.
• John spoke about Twitter when he was discussing Consider all your options. Tempted to dismiss it as a gimmick, he understood the power of Twitter when he saw hundreds of people respond to a tweet about him. He now Twitters. Twitter is a new option for spreading his ideas.

Have I included the people I need to realize my dream? The People question.

No one ever makes it alone. Of all the principles John taught about today, this one I understand. I can’t make it alone and would never want to. The people are what make the journey worthwhile for me.

Favorite quotes:

• Your team helps you move from addition to compounding.
• The team determines the dream.
• Your dream will never be accomplished by a team that doesn’t have the ability.
• If your dream is a big one — a 10 on the scale — and your team is a 2, you will never hit your dream.
• 2’s can’t hit 10’s. They can hit 2’s.
• A nightmare is a big dream and a bad team.

Am I willing to pay the price for the dream? The Cost Question

I had heard John speak on this topic ten years ago at our church. Most churches — and people — fail to grow, he said, because they become unwilling to pay the price. It is a thought that has stuck with me. Today he clarified one issue for me as well. Sometimes it is healthy not to pay the price. If it costs your health, integrity or family it is not worth chasing the dream.

Favorite quotes:

• The dream is free; the journey is not.
• The price must be paid. You will pay it sooner than you think. It will be higher than you think. You have to pay it more than once.
• The higher you go, the lighter you need to travel.
• Be aware that there are tradeoffs to be made for every dream.
• John’s success rules: pay full price (no discounts, short cuts) and pay in advance.

Am I moving closer to my dream? The Tenacity question

The topic of working within your area of giftedness is a hot button for me. So many of us spend all our time trying to do and be things that we just aren’t! I was glad to hear John address this today. He’s currently reading, for the second time, Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. I’ve read that, too, and it is very empowering. When you are working withiny your area of giftedness, the difference between being average and being world-class is a matter of 10,000 hours of practice. It’s like the magic bar of ability…get to 10,000 hours. I’ll put Malcolm’s book up in my sidebar for any of you who are interested.

Favorite quotes:

• Stopping the journey is ok, as long as it is just a rest stop.
• When you stop, all the resources and people and ideas stop, too. They only move when you do: you are the catalyst.
• John wrote 62 books in 60 years.
• His writing process: Think, read, write, file, ask questions. Every day. Every single day. Over and over and over again. Think, read, write, file, ask questions.
• The return on your investment is HUGE on the back end, but small on the front end. Don’t give up.
• Do the right thing, long enough, until the return is big enough.
• Most dreams die because people give up just before they come to fruition. They were almost there, but they let the dream die.

Tagged as: John Maxwell, Put Your Dream to the Test